--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was never a fan of Barack Obama's…" description: "\"I was never a fan of Barack Obama's bipartisanship routine.\" — Thomas Frank" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-frank-4078_barack_i-was-never-a-fan-of-barack-obama-s-bipa_1618782.png" --- # I was never a fan of Barack Obama's bipartisanship routine. ![“I was never a fan of Barack Obama's bipartisanship routine.” quote by Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-frank-4078_barack_i-was-never-a-fan-of-barack-obama-s-bipa_1618782.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-frank-4078_barack_i-was-never-a-fan-of-barack-obama-s-bipa_1618782.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-frank-4078_barack_i-was-never-a-fan-of-barack-obama-s-bipa_1618782.png) > “I was never a fan of Barack Obama's bipartisanship routine.” [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Criticizing the perceived superficiality of Obama’s attempts at cross‑party cooperation. **In simple terms:** Questioning the depth of political compromise. Key Takeaway Seek genuine collaboration over performative gestures. Themes politics leadership bipartisanship authenticity skepticism Mood critical analytical Type opinion political commentary When to use this quote - campaign rhetoric - legislative negotiations Key Concepts political strategy public perception policy making Questions to Reflect On - Does bipartisan effort always mean effective policy? - When does compromise become compromise of principle? A Different Perspective Bipartisanship may be used as a political tool rather than genuine dialogue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Barack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barack/) [Bipartisanship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bipartisanship/) [Bipartisanship Routine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bipartisanship-routine-241399/) [Fans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fans/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Routine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/routine/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) ## Related quotes > [Above all else stands the burning question of bipartisanship. Whatever else the politicians might say they're about, our news analysts know that this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/above-all-else-stands-the-burning-question-of-bipartisanship-whatever/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [If you're a progressive, you can find lots of people who call themselves conservatives, but who agree with you on lots of things. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/if-you-re-a-progressive-you-can-find-lots-of-people-who-call/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [The American spirit wears no political label. In service to others and yes, in sacrifice for our country, there are no Republicans; there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-american-spirit-wears-no-political-label-in-service-to-others-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The best way to begin genuine bipartisanship to make America stronger is to work together on the real crises facing our country, not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/the-best-way-to-begin-genuine-bipartisanship-to-make-america-stronger/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [I understand that one of the purposes of bipartisanship is to cram something difficult and necessary down the American people's gullets for which neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/i-understand-that-one-of-the-purposes-of-bipartisanship-is-to-cram/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [“There are not enough purple states. No one votes in primaries, except the most ideological. And big money comes in to support or oppose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-bayh/there-are-not-enough-purple-states-no-one-votes-in-primaries-except/) [Evan Bayh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-bayh/) > [Bipartisanship isn't an option anymore; it is a requirement. The American people have divided responsibility for leadership right down the middle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-daschle/bipartisanship-isn-t-an-option-anymore-it-is-a-requirement-the/) [Tom Daschle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-daschle/) > [Bipartisanship helps to avoid extremes and imbalances. It causes compromises and accommodations. So let's cooperate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/bipartisanship-helps-to-avoid-extremes-and-imbalances-it-causes/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [First, we must continually reaffirm the principle that the security of the United States is not, and should never be, a partisan matter. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cohen/first-we-must-continually-reaffirm-the-principle-that-the-security-of/) [William Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cohen/) > [I think one of the first steps - and I'm glad we were able to reach, again, a bipartisan agreement - is an accountability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-miller/i-think-one-of-the-first-steps-and-i-m-glad-we-were-able-to-reach/) [Jeff Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-miller/) > [Bipartisanship is nice, but it cannot be a substitute for action, not having it cannot prevent us from going forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/bipartisanship-is-nice-but-it-cannot-be-a-substitute-for-action-not/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [Public officials insult our intelligence and our goodwill when they paint rosy pictures about budgets, jobs, bipartisanship, and transparency, and alter their positions on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/public-officials-insult-our-intelligence-and-our-goodwill-when-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This country cannot afford to tear itself apart on a partisan basis on issues so vital to our national security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/this-country-cannot-afford-to-tear-itself-apart-on-a-partisan-basis/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [“My commitment is to urge us all toward moderation and good will toward fellow citizens. If we can set aside unworthy emotions that deepen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-rasley/my-commitment-is-to-urge-us-all-toward-moderation-and-good-will/) [Jeff Rasley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-rasley/) > [Our predecessors understood that the ties that bind America are far stronger than disagreements over any particular policy and far more durable and profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/our-predecessors-understood-that-the-ties-that-bind-america-are-far/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) ## More by Thomas Frank > [I was in a bad mood when I wrote that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/i-was-in-a-bad-mood-when-i-wrote-that/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [“above all, intellectual. Anti-intellectualism is one of the grand unifying themes of the backlash, the mutant strain of class war that underpins so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/above-all-intellectual-anti-intellectualism-is-one-of-the-grand/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [The only truly individualistic health-care choice - where you receive care that is unpolluted by anyone else's funds - is to forgo insurance altogether,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/the-only-truly-individualistic-health-care-choice-where-you-receive/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Conservatism is not a doctrine of contentment. Not a doctrine for the satisfied and the smug. It's a politics that's at war with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/conservatism-is-not-a-doctrine-of-contentment-not-a-doctrine-for-the/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [A president aiming for 'Great' or 'Near Great' status must do more. He must give lots of interviews, make records accessible, and heap the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/a-president-aiming-for-great-or-near-great-status-must-do-more-he/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [“Innovation liberalism is "a liberalism of the rich," to use the straightforward phrase of local labor leader Harris Gruman. This doctrine has no patience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/innovation-liberalism-is-a-liberalism-of-the-rich-to-use-the/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Media bias has been a favorite theme of the Right for decades, of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/media-bias-has-been-a-favorite-theme-of-the-right-for-decades-of/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Presidential legacies are valuable things, too valuable to be left up to historians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/presidential-legacies-are-valuable-things-too-valuable-to-be-left-up/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [A lot of populists after populism died just became socialists. At the beginning of the 20th century, socialism looked like it was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/a-lot-of-populists-after-populism-died-just-became-socialists-at-the/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [“And so the catastrophe of 1929–33 did to the certainties of laissez-faire economics what science did to nineteenth-century religion and what the slaughter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/and-so-the-catastrophe-of-1929-33-did-to-the-certainties-of-laissez/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Vibrancy is so universally desirable, so totemic in its powers, that even though we aren't sure what the word means, we know the quality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/vibrancy-is-so-universally-desirable-so-totemic-in-its-powers-that/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Under the administration of George W. Bush, you will recall, federal spending grew pretty significantly. At the same time, the number of people directly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/under-the-administration-of-george-w-bush-you-will-recall-federal/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Massive inequality, we have learned, isn't the best way to run an economy after all. And when you think about it, it's also profoundly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/massive-inequality-we-have-learned-isn-t-the-best-way-to-run-an/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Governing was always difficult for conservatives, but as they return to the opposition, they are rediscovering their skill at blame evasion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/governing-was-always-difficult-for-conservatives-but-as-they-return/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) > [Back in the days when the market was a kind of secular god and all the world thrilled to behold the amazing powers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/back-in-the-days-when-the-market-was-a-kind-of-secular-god-and-all/) [Thomas Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) [Explore all 116 Thomas Frank quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/) ## More Barack quotes > [ I can't imagine that I would be asked that by the president-elect \[Donald Trump\], or then-president \[Barack Obama\]. But it's - I'm very clear.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mattis/i-can-t-imagine-that-i-would-be-asked-that-by-the-president-elect/) [James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mattis/) > [We know the candidate Barack Obama, what he was like - the anti-war government nig... America was a source for division around the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/we-know-the-candidate-barack-obama-what-he-was-like-the-anti-war/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [We're in more wars today under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton than under George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan. Yet they tell you that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-re-in-more-wars-today-under-barack-obama-and-hillary-clinton-than/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I can tell you who's planning terroris attacks. The leaders of ISIL. And I can tell you where they're at. They're in Raqqa, Syria.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-can-tell-you-who-s-planning-terroris-attacks-the-leaders-of-isil/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [ The president \[Barack Obama\] asked for a commitment of, I think, 100,000 jobs for veterans and military spouses over the next couple of years.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/the-president-barack-obama-asked-for-a-commitment-of-i-think-100-000/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [The big story today, Barack Obama was accused of insulting Sarah Palin when he criticized Republican policies by saying, you can put lipstick on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/the-big-story-today-barack-obama-was-accused-of-insulting-sarah-palin/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [ I think the president's \[Barack Obama\] position has been very clear on Syria. He wants more aggressive, he's put the Special Ops on the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-williams/i-think-the-president-s-barack-obama-position-has-been-very-clear-on/) [Juan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-williams/) > [ It cannot be an American fight. And I think what the president \[Barack Obama\] has consistently said - which I agree with - is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/it-cannot-be-an-american-fight-and-i-think-what-the-president-barack/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [It doesn't matter to me where Barack Obama goes. If he wants to go to Hawaii because it's his home state, fine! Hunky-dory. Plastic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/it-doesn-t-matter-to-me-where-barack-obama-goes-if-he-wants-to-go-to/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [ It wasn't \[Barack\] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the-feeling-on-the-ground-it-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I don't think that we really know a whole lot about Barack Obama at all that you would really call distinctive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-mcwhorter/i-don-t-think-that-we-really-know-a-whole-lot-about-barack-obama-at/) [John H. McWhorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-mcwhorter/) > [Just like Barack Obama, my views on gay marriage have evolved, and now I am a reluctant groom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/just-like-barack-obama-my-views-on-gay-marriage-have-evolved-and-now/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [I think President Barack Obama has been an extraordinarily successful president, and that this period will record that with a bunch of exclamation points.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-sunstein/i-think-president-barack-obama-has-been-an-extraordinarily-successful/) [Cass Sunstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-sunstein/) > [The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atherton/the-archives-recall-not-one-single-incriminating-incident-not-one/) [Michael Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-atherton/) > [In public, Barack Obama's giving the simple version of his beliefs for the mass public. In private, he can discuss it at a really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/in-public-barack-obama-s-giving-the-simple-version-of-his-beliefs-for/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) [Browse all 1,672 Barack quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barack/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was never a fan of Barack Obama's bipartisanship routine.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Frank" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/i-was-never-a-fan-of-barack-obama-s-bipartisanship-routine/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Barack" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/i-was-never-a-fan-of-barack-obama-s-bipartisanship-routine/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-frank-4078_barack_i-was-never-a-fan-of-barack-obama-s-bipa_1618782.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-frank-4078_barack_i-was-never-a-fan-of-barack-obama-s-bipa_1618782.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/thomas-frank-4078_barack_i-was-never-a-fan-of-barack-obama-s-bipa_1618782.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was never a fan of Barack Obama's bipartisanship routine.” — Thomas Frank", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Frank", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-frank/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was never a fan of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/i-was-never-a-fan-of-barack-obama-s-bipartisanship-routine/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-frank/i-was-never-a-fan-of-barack-obama-s-bipartisanship-routine/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```